An addiction is a compulsive consumption of drugs associated with an inability to limit catches and to an emergence of a state of lack if consumption stops. A drug is a psychoactive substance that acts on the entire brain. For see the effects of addiction on your brain, we will present a video on the impact of alcohol on a teenager’s brain.
In this video, we can see how the alcohol damages the brain. The alcohol affects the brain of adolescents more that brain’s adult because it’s again in development, it must be operational. It’s during adolescent that the brain builds his foundations. The brain of adults is also affected but differently. Here, we will focus on adolescents. As you know, the brain is composed of several lobes, so we will go to describe effects of alcohol on this lobes. In the first time, the alcohol affect frontal lobe, wich allow of how we feel relaxed. As we have seen in the video, the alcohol touch a major part of the brain areas. The frontal lobe is more long to develops, it’s decisions center, he control the mood, the behavior and resolve problems. The temporal lobe allows the processing of information and plays a role in the learming and memory. The cerebellum control the movements and senses. The effect of the alcohol on the cerebellum : loss of equilibrium so difficult to walk or stand.
Brain stem transfer informations of body at brain and conservely. The hipocamp is the part of the brain wich uses to create news memories, the alcohol interferes with creation of memories (Court-term memory and long-term memory). Absorption of the alcohol generates a slowing of brain, indeed, the ability to concentrate decreases, we control less our emotions.
Next, we still explain more precisely what’s happen in your brain when you’re addict.
Initially, a person will test the product, like a drug, without a priori knowledge and that this will provide some pleasure. From there is established a link between the stimulus olfactory and visual of the product and the pleasure experienced at the time of ingestion. So, we speak of a positif reinforcement : the pleasure felt encouraged to repeat this behavior. People are pushed to recover the product because wants to regain the welfare state when taking. And this behavior are repeat and repeat. And this create the dependance of the product, called also an addiction.
In brain, the system relies to a pleasure called the reward circuit. It’s at the base of all our motivated behaviors related satisfaction. The motivated behaviors are the behaviors that are beneficial for our survival : they push us to maintain our structure in prompting us to act to our physiological needs. In fact, an addiction is a pathological motivated behavior. It relies on the dysfunctionning of the reward circuit.
The reward circuit is located in several brain regions. The ATV and the nucleus accumbens are the heart of the circuit. ATV is a group of neurons located in the center of the brain. It receives information from several other regions who shall inform him of the level of satisfaction of fundamental needs. It transmits then this information to another brain structure locater further : the nucleus accumbens. This is transmitted through a specific chemical messenger : the dopamine.
The dopamine is a neurotransmitter. It increases in the nucleus accumbens and other regions will have an effect of reinforcement on behavior to satisfy our needs. The dopamine is released in other several brain regions (for example : in the limbic system).
So, an addiction is the cause of the disruption of the reward circuit. There are physical changes in brain cells of the reward center. These physical changes alter the way addicts think. They continue in their drug seeking and taking behaviors, even when their world can crumble around them.
All drugs which addictions lead acting either at level of the ATV or nucleus accumbens. They do believe in the brain they are good and that we are needed. So the reward circuit is activated : drugs trigger a behavior. For example : a person takes a drug, it acts on his brain, it activates the reward circuit and thus a certain pleasure.
So the man is going to want to feel again the pleasure. He will do everything to find this. And he can place themselves in danger and gradually los control of himself. He becomes dependent on this drug and can no longer do without. So his behavior self resume to the search of pleasur felt, he forsakes thereby him daily life. The consequences are : social isolation, vital risks…
To conclude, the compulsive consumption of drug is dangerous physiologically and psychologycally. The consumption of drug causes many effects on your body via the brain. Indeed, the first element touched is the brain, it’s by him that effects of drugs will be felt. All ares cerebrals are affect and in the long term, structures of the brain will change. Long term, the behavior of the indiviual change and deteriorate. For example : Alcohol abuse can provoke behavioral disorders and depressions.
Vocabulary :
Compulsive consumption : consommation compulsive
Reinforcement : renforcement
To regain : regagner
The reward circuit : le circuit de la récompense
To provoke : provoquer
https://www.youtube.com/watchv=g2gVzVIBc_g&fbclid=IwAR06HWjGBk9t9MuLWvA_cnaDEEBZl5xUwKKZu7jlNZ97APvekdoQqSUIALI
Estelle Mexique and Jessica Kozlowski